Not a Drink: Pet Coke and the Kochs Petroleum coke, or pet coke, is a byproduct of the refining process. As a cheap substitute for coal, it can be used to fuel power plants. But with tar sands higher contaminant content, and the fact that more than 6 million tons of it are produced annually, pet coke is another environmental catastrophe waiting to happen. The catastrophe occurs not only when the pet coke is burned, spewing massive amounts of carbon, sulfur, and other pollutants, but as weve seen in Detroit, when it is stored and stockpiled. Our Windsor neighbors, some folk started calling me. And the media called the same day, recalls Rashid Tlaib, the Michigan State Representative who represents the Detroit neighborhoods that abut the Detroit River and border the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario. They are asking me, Whats with these black piles? I said, What black piles? At that time those piles were about 15 feet tall; now [in July 2013] theyre all over 45 feet. Those black piles were petroleum coke, and from the time they first appeared shortly after the nearby Marathon Petroleum oil refinery began processing about 28,000 barrels of tar sands oil daily in November 2012, they eventually comprised a mound three stories tall and stretching for an entire city block. Shockingly, the pile was almost entirely uncontrolled, i.e., little if anything was done to control for wind and water runoff. In fact, the company that stockpiled the pet coke never even got permits to store it. They never applied for any processes, nothing, says Tlaib. Theres a fire permit they ended up having to do, and they did that. But other than that they [had] no permits. One of the things Im curious about is why they didnt hire an environmental consultant, so be that understands this process, understands the mitigations that you have to put in place, understands how to deal with products like petroleum coke that are extremely dangerous when you dont contain them properly. Instead, they hired a PR consultant, so that tells you they would spend the money on a PR consultant versus trying to protect the public health and environment of the people who have to live with their piles. The problem is that we dont have existing regulations in place. Its almost like a free-for-all in many places of our country for these oil companies, says the Sierra Clubs Colarulli, pointing out that the law has yet to catch up to the technology that brought tar sands oil to refineries in Detroit and elsewhere. The first thing we need to do is identify when its happening and call it to light. Pet coke piles like in Detroit are actually [being stored] around the country. They are the most toxic substances out there that are not being regulated. There are better standards around how you or I distribute our garbage than how the Koch brothers have to handle their pet coke. With no government regulators to take up the task, Tlaibs constituents, generally low-income people of color, took it upon themselves to document the damage the pet coke was doing to their community. We confirmed that the petroleum coke was on the sidewalk, and on peoples windowsills that live nearby. We have 767 people who got their homes tested, and all can confirm petroleum coke containing two metals, selenium and vanadium, that can cause serious respiratory disease, Tlaib says. Neighbors took to the streets, but their protests generally were met with indifference from the city government. Perhaps it is because they are mostly poor and minority residents who are frequently marginalized by the political process. Or, maybe its because the coke piles are owned by Koch Carbon, which is owned by the extremely rich, extremely powerful Koch brothers. (The industrialist billionaire brothers are well-known in the political world for their advocating extreme right wing, free-market libertarianism, and their financial support of organizations and legislators striving to make their ideals into law. More on that later.) But whatever the reason, the city did not take action to shut down the coke piles, despite evidence that rainfall runoff from them was getting into the Great Lakes watershed, and toxic dust was contaminating the neighborhood. Until, that is, July 27, 2013, when disturbing video evidence showed a massive plume of pet coke dust rising over the Detroit River and hovering over Canadian territory in Windsor. The video was shot by Randy Emerson, a member of the Canadian environmental group Windsor on Watch. He uploaded the video to YouTube, where it quickly went viral. Within a months time, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing ordered that the piles must be removed by August 27, and covered until removal was complete. By that time, however, Koch Carbon had already announced its intention to move the piles to Ohio. Some pet coke has now turned up at a Koch Industries site in Chicago. The Plight of Port Arthur The pet coke pile in Detroit was the result of a short-term production in one relatively small refinery. What will happen when full-scale refining takes place at the end of a pipeline delivering nearly 30 times the amount? The people of Port Arthur, Texas, are not eager to find out; the oil industry has already given them enough problems. I heard a statistic once that that if you lived within one mile of the ports you had an 82-percent increased rate of contracting leukemia, says Colarulli. Those sorts of stats are everyday life for people that live near an oil refinery like the citizens of Port Arthur. Port Arthur stands at the most southeastern point of Texas, bordered by Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. Part of the Golden Triangle outside of Houston, its history as a refining center dates back more than a century, originating in 1901 with the Spindletop oil well in nearby Beaumont. Since then, its landscape has been dotted with refineries. From some parts of town, its possible the look out on the horizon and see nothing but oil refineries, including one of the worlds largest. Not coincidentally, Port Arthurs population suffers from shockingly high rates of cancer, asthma, kidney and liver disease, and other maladies attributable to the toxins in the air that they breathe. Its a disproportionate number of people suffering from illnesses. Their respiratory systems are damaged, and also we have some serious skin disorders. Throughout this community, within a one block area theres been at least three deaths from cancer, and any community you go into within the city of Port Arthur, you can bet if the residence that were once living there passed on, it was probably cancer related, says Hilton Kelley, a community leader and 2011 winner of the prestigious Goldman Prize (often called the Nobel Prize for environmentalists), naming him as the outstanding environmental activist in North America. Kelley was born and raised in Port Arthur, but left as a young man to join the U.S. Navy, and then went to Hollywood to pursue his acting dream. Despite a successful career, including work on the Don Johnson series Nash Bridges, he was compelled to return to his blighted, impoverished hometown. I came here [to Port Arthur] to visit in 2000, and just took a look around the community. I was wondering why wasnt somebody doing something to help rebuild this area, to help clean it up. And when I got back on the California I kept thinking about my hometown and the need for someone to help clean it up. And I just made a choice to come back to make that happen, he says. Since his return, Kelley has created the non-profit Community In-power & Development Association. And in seeking to clean up and revitalize the city, he has become something of a lay expert on the petrochemical industry and what it does to human health. With all these chemicals being dumped into the air like sulfur dioxide, 1,3-butadiene, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, all these chemicals in the air that we breathe, Kelley rattles off the top of his head. We know how sulfur dioxide impacts us by itself, we know how benzene affects us standing alone. But all these chemicals mixed together, how does that impact our bodies? What is it doing to our mental state? What is it doing to our respiratory system? We dont know yet. We dont know. Kelley often hears critics say about the residence of Port Arthur, if its so bad why dont they just leave? But the fact is, he says, the people who remain in Port Arthur are generally the poorest of the poor. With 25% of the citys population living below the poverty line and nearly one-fifth unemployed (bearing in mind the official unemployment rate only counts those who are out of work and are actively seeking employment, excluding the chronically unemployed and part-time workers who would prefer full-time employment), seven out of 10 homes worth less than $50,000, the evidence supports Kelleys position. Economically, this community is very stressed. We have 16-, 17-percent unemployment. Those people that are employed, they are working two or three mediocre jobs fighting to keep the lights on because a lot of the jobs are paying $7.75. Why dont you move, you say? Because this is the cheapest place to live. They cant afford to move. Theyre stuck, Kelley says. As a result, those who are stuck suffer long-term impacts to their health. With no respite from the pollution in the air, Port Arthur residents dont spend too much time outside. One can drive around the town for hours and not encounter enough people to play a game of pickup basketball. Playing outside is kind of dangerous because of the emission levels, Kelley says. When kids play, they breathe deeper, and the respiratory system is sucking in more particles from the air. This can be dangerous because on any given day the plants can have an emission event and released tons of toxins that our kids are breathing in. In many cases, the kids have to take a breathing device with them. Its a pump you have to plug in and put in a little tube, and it creates a mist. The child has to put on a mask, and it opens up the bronchial tubes. One out of every five households has a child that has to use this type of medication. For Kelley, this work isnt purely altruistic. He has his own health problems related the environment, including chronic respiratory troubles and recurring rashes. And he speaks frequently of family members who have suffered and continue to suffer. From a cousin who died of a brain tumor as a child to another with lifelong breathing problems, not to mention uncountable friends and classmates who have died of cancer, lung disease, liver disease, and a litany of other diseases linked to petrochemicals, Kelley takes his work very personally. But he strives not to let his emotions interfere with what he needs to accomplish. It angers you, but what can you do besides protest? he asks. What else can you do besides write letters to congressmen and try to get them onboard, most of the time to no avail? What can you do besides call these folks and let them know that theres an issue? Were doing everything we possibly can to help protect the citizens from these dangerous chemicals, and all were doing seems to be not enough. Tell the State Department what you think about Keystone XL by taking action here.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 01:10:04 +0000
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